Sympathetic response to oral glucose load is altered in hypertensive subjects

Abstract

Blood pressure, plasma norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) levels in responses to oral glucose load (OGTT) and to head-up tilting (Tilt) were measured in 14 hypertensive (HT) and 17 normotensive subjects (NT). In response to OGTT, NE significantly increased within 30 minutes (+25 +/- 8%; p less than 0.05) in NT, followed by a decline to the basal level, while it remained unchanged in HT (+5 +/- 8%). E decreased similarly during OGTT in both groups. Mean blood pressure, however, fell only in HT (-3.3 +/- 1.1%; p less than 0.05) but did not change in NT. Blood pressure, NE and E responses to Tilt did not differ between NT and HT. These results suggest that hypertensive subjects have some defects in sympathetic activation in response to glucose loading.